John Gay and the Birth of Utilarianism - Volume 30 Issue 1
Contents:
- JOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISM
- JOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISMJOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISMJOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISMJOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISMJOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISM
- JOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISM
- JOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISM
- JOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISM
- JOHN GAY
JOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISM
* john gay utilitarianism *
Abstract This article ncerns John Gay's 1731 say ‘Prelimary Dissertatn Concerng the Fundamental Prciple of Virtue or Moraly’. Gay unrtak two tasks here, the first of which is to supply a crern of virtue. In other words: Gay is the first utilarian.
While some scholars have taken an tert Gay's say, a staed treatment of s ntents do not exist, spe s acknowledged fluence on Hume, Hartley, Jam Mill, and John Stuart Mill. Harris, Jonathan, ‘Gay, John (1699–1745)’, Oxford Dictnary of Natnal Bgraphy, <> (2004)Google Scholar. Acrdg to William Paley, Edmund Law said about Gay that ‘no man knew the Bible or the works of Locke better’ (Paley, William, ‘A Short Memoir of the Life of Edmund Law’, The Works of William Paley, D.
Gay, John, ‘Prelimary Dissertatn Concerng the Fundamental Prciple of Virtue or Moraly’, An Essay on the Orig of Evil, Kg, William, ed. Although Gay's say is often regnized as a semal text the history of ethics, is often treated a cursory manner.
JOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISMJOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISMJOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISMJOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISMJOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISM
This article ncerns John Gay's 1731 say 'Prelimary Dissertatn Concerng the Fundamental Prciple of Virtue or Moraly'. Gay unrtak two tasks here, the first of which is to supply a crern of virtue. I argue that he is * john gay utilitarianism *
One may fd spic that Gay draws on the ncept of terted obligatn to fend his view that happs is the crern of virtue. I do not ny that there may be somethg qutn-beggg Gay's argument, though discsg here would take too far afield. Two thgs n be said Gay's favour.
Send, Gay's general strategy at this pot of the argument is to provi a amework to arbrate the disput between the other moralists.
Gay, ‘Prelimary Dissertatn’, p.
JOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISM
This article ncerns John Gay’s 1731 say ‘Prelimary Dissertatn Concerng the Fundamental Prciple of Virtue or Moraly’. Gay unrtak two tasks here, the first of which is to supply a crern ... * john gay utilitarianism *
While Gay's assumptn that God wills the happs of his creatn seems sensible, is theologilly ntroversial for his time. For example, Gay is out of step wh certa domant forms of Prottantism of which he was no doubt aware (Prbyterianism and the Reformed tradn, generally).
In this way, Gay's prentatn of utilarianism as a mimalist, theologilly based ethics may be more revisnary than he suggts. Gay, ‘Prelimary Dissertatn’, pp. It is certaly possible that he read Gay's ‘Prelimary Dissertatn’, which was published ne years earlier.
Regardls, Butler's objectn is directed at the posn Gay fends – one that he thks naturally flows om a mistaken readg of Hutchon's Inquiry. Hume would follow Gay's footsteps eight years later, wh the publitn of A Treatise of Human Nature.
JOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISM
Downloadable! This article ncerns John Gay's 1731 say ‘Prelimary Dissertatn Concerng the Fundamental Prciple of Virtue or Moraly’. Gay unrtak two tasks here, the first of which is to supply a crern of virtue. I argue that he is the first morn philosopher to claim that universal happs is the aim of moral actn. In other words: Gay is the first utilarian. His send task is to expla the source of moral motivatn. He draws upon the prcipl of associatn to argue (a) that we velop benevolent motiv by associatg the ia of our happs wh that of others and (b) that we e to approve of benevolence by regnizg that our happs is extribly nnected wh the general happs. While some scholars have taken an tert Gay's say, a staed treatment of s ntents do not exist, spe s acknowledged fluence on Hume, Hartley, Jam Mill, and John Stuart Mill. * john gay utilitarianism *
Gay adopts this ia om Hobb and Locke. The example Gay giv of how this procs works is envy (‘Prelimary Dissertatn’, pp.
Gay, Prelimary Dissertatn’, p. Gay's discsn of ‘rtg plac’ is important.
That said, Gay not that this ‘habual knowledge’ is a form of prejudice that is rarely examed and is difficult to root out (‘Prelimary Dissertatn’, p. Towards the end of the say, Gay mentns our propensy to imate others (‘Prelimary Dissertatn’, p.
JOHN GAY AND THE BIRTH OF UTILARIANISM
Hence those thgs and pleasure are so tied together and associated our mds, that one nnot prent self but the other will also occur’ (Gay, ‘Prelimary Dissertatn’, pp.
Actg on behalf of others be an ‘acquired’ prciple of actn (Gay, ‘Prelimary Dissertatn’, p.
JOHN GAY
The other aspect of Gay's view about how associatns velop motivatnal force is the love we naturally feel for agents who are nducive to our happs. Gay strs that the associatns appear as ‘stcts’ to the person who posss them (‘Prelimary Dissertatn’, pp.
Halévy labels Joseph Pritley a ‘disciple’ of Gay (Philosophil Radilism, p. Regardg the stcture of the two says, Brown begs as Gay do: wh an attempt to show that the domant moral theori of the time unwtgly assume the prciple of utily as their crern of virtue.